iPhone 3G Reviews and Impressions

[MacRumors]

Image from Gizmodo
With the worldwide release of the iPhone complete, numerous publications are releasing their reviews of Apple's latest gadget.

Gizmodo provides some interesting observations about the iPhone 3G. They comment on the plastic backing, and acknowledge that the device feels cheaper than the original aluminum backed iPhone. This "cheaper" feeling, however, has been somewhat debated by individual observations. The trade-off in using plastic, of course, is improved signal strength. Gizmodo found that Wi-Fi reception was a bit better in the new iPhone. In their testing, they were able to walk up to 120 feet away from an access point before losing a connection. In the same test, the original iPhone dropped the connection at 100 feet.

The screen is also described as warmer, slightly brighter and better for daylight viewing. This "warmer" quality has generated some complaints about a yellow-tint to the 3G's screen that is most noticeable when compared directly to the first iPhone.

Audio quality in the 3G phone has been said to be much clearer, with Gizmodo describing it as the difference between "someone with their hand over their mouth and with their hand taken away." This improvement was also mentioned by a number of earlier reviewers. iLounge had a dissenting opinion on this and found that with the exception of Bluetooth calls, in which the iPhone 3G was superior, the handset and speaker audio were comparable.

Engadget notes that the GPS acquisition is "surprisingly fast for a cellphone" and credits this to the iPhone's use of both GPS, cellphone towers and Wi-Fi access points to help determine location.

One point of confusion is whether or not 3rd parties will be able to offer a turn-by-turn GPS solution for the iPhone. Questions about SDK conditions and antenna size have been raised in previous reviews, but TeleNav confirmed to Gizmodo that they will be launching a 3D moving map GPS application with turn-by-turn voice guidance.

Additional iPhone 3G first impressions have been posted by MacRumors readers in this discussion thread.

Despite activation issues, the iPhone 3G appears to have had strong sales with reports of it selling out in Europe as well as AT&T stores. Apple is again providing an iPhone Availability tool that will be updated at 9 p.m. nightly.


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[dextertangocci]

I wish I had one now..

I can't believe the server issues Apple is having though.. Couldn't they see this coming? I've been trying to download the iPod Touch 2.0 Firmware since yesterday.

[LillieDesigns]

With all the coverage available, Ifeel as if I'm just ignoring this release. The apps are amazing, but this the 3G doesn't have me sold. Time will tell...the extra $$$ for 3G killed it for me.

[FaustArp]

can't wait for my white 16GB next week!

[Calypso]

Only a line here to note the activation problems many people are still facing, myself included. Can't find anything at AT&T or Apple's web sites about that either. Any suggestions out there? I was told by AT&T phone rep to keep "power cycling" until it eventually get service.

[Diode]

Wish the availability tool did AT&T stores as well.

[computermilk]

Hey guys, just an FYI

that "Warmer" tint is not working as intended, if you have that chances are you are on the 5A345) firmware.

Just restore from Itunes, and update to the 5A347 Firmware =)


Make sure you backup first!!!


~Computermilk

[Auctor]

Does anyone have a guess as to whether you could use turn by turn GPS in an app AND play music at the same time? I'm thinking of a scenario where you're on the highway using the GPS, but also using the iPhone connected to your car stereo. Since each application closes when a new one launched, won't that be a huge pain in the butt?

[hobbbz]

Can anyone explain why my exchange email shows messages sent from my iPhone as having no subject and having the full source (headers) in the email body? I am using entourage 2008.

I tried searching the forums and didn't see anyone having the same problem.

[beatledud]

Can't make long post....iPhone is beautiful....must continue to play and make posting on ebay for my computer which I don't need anymore....

[bushido]

15.000 iPhones sold in germany on its first day woooot and mine is coming tomorrow morning

[flashy-cat]

Originally Posted by Diode

Wish the availability tool did AT&T stores as well.

Wish it did the UK Apple stores.

[computermilk]

Originally Posted by LillieDesigns

With all the coverage available, Ifeel as if I'm just ignoring this release. The apps are amazing, but this the 3G doesn't have me sold. Time will tell...the extra $$$ for 3G killed it for me.

Lillie,

The 3G by far has me sold ... Why? it's such a HUGE difference in speeds.

I think the data connection was probably the only bottleneck on the older iPhone.


Now that we have faster data? combine that with the SOLID OS platform on the iphone and how fast all the Apps run, it's SUPER fast! i love it!


Heck! I can even SMS text faster!! it goes ALOT faster!

[extraextra]

Initial impressions of battery life? I'm hearing that it's quite low!

[off in the wood]

$260 early termination fee from Verizon
$632 for 1 16gb black and 1 16gb white 3g iphones
$182 first monthly phone bill (includes activation fees)

owning, this amazing piece of high speed technology.....****ing priceless

[computermilk]

Originally Posted by extraextra

Initial impressions of battery life? I'm hearing that it's quite low!

Yeah it's lower when you sit there and play games on it and drain it out.


The battery is a better battery.

You just have to count that we are doing different things now.

and have some better battery Management. For example, Emails.

If you're not really getting that many emails, should you be using Push? just turn it off. Also, the Auto check email "Fetch" , set it to Manual. This will stretch out the battery life a couple extra hours on the end of the day believe it or not.


And with ANY device out there, if you just sat there, and surfed the Web, played games, Watched videos and such, You're going to drain the battery out. It's just a given.

[extraextra]

Originally Posted by dextertangocci

I wish I had one now..

I can't believe the server issues Apple is having though.. Couldn't they see this coming? I've been trying to download the iPod Touch 2.0 Firmware since yesterday.

I agree... I saw this coming a mile away, and Apple didn't? Launching literally EVERYTHING on the same day? That's going to take a massive toll on their servers. IMO, they should've spaced out the launches of the App Store, iTunes 7.7, Mobile Me, 2.0 Software Update, etc.

[sananda]

good photos in that gizmodo review. the first i have seen that do make the black plastic back look nice.

[computermilk]

Originally Posted by extraextra

I agree... I saw this coming a mile away, and Apple didn't? Launching literally EVERYTHING on the same day? That's going to take a massive toll on their servers. IMO, they should've spaced out the launches of the App Store, iTunes 7.7, Mobile Me, 2.0 Software Update, etc.

Everything seems to be dieing down now more though...

My mobileMe is moving noticeably faster, and the Apple store is moving faster as well now =)

The fires are starting to die down.

[Eideard]

In general, I find judgement of aesthetics from engadget and gizmodo to be slightly below those of Elmer Fudd. When the question concerns an Apple product, their analysis further diminishes in my estimation.

Sophomoric comes to mind.

[bushido]

just curious but does the iPhone 3G get as hot as my iPod Touch while playing a game or watching a video, i can seriously barely touch it after 20 minutes playing straight

[EricNau]

So the world hasn't ended? You don't say...

[blehpunk]

i wasn't going to get one because i've had my 8g iphone for a year, and i dont understand how upgrading works if i can at all. now i kinda want one. but i'm sure if i stick to my old iphone for another year the one they come out with next summer when all the originals are about to come out of contract will be amazing.

[sassenach74]

Originally Posted by computermilk

Yeah it's lower when you sit there and play games on it and drain it out.


The battery is a better battery.

You just have to count that we are doing different things now.

and have some better battery Management. For example, Emails.

If you're not really getting that many emails, should you be using Push? just turn it off. Also, the Auto check email "Fetch" , set it to Manual. This will stretch out the battery life a couple extra hours on the end of the day believe it or not.


And with ANY device out there, if you just sat there, and surfed the Web, played games, Watched videos and such, You're going to drain the battery out. It's just a given.

That's one of the benefits of push though, instead of checking every xminutes to see if there is an email, it will automatically pull the email off the server whenever an email arrives on the server.

[sassenach74]

Originally Posted by bushido

just curious but does the iPhone 3G get as hot as my iPod Touch while playing a game or watching a video, i can seriously barely touch it after 20 minutes playing straight

Mine didn't get hot at all when playing super monkey ball for an hour or so.